


C'mon, Babygirl

by banneroflupinsbones



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Blood, F/M, Fluff, Reader Insert, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-23 23:05:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11999808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banneroflupinsbones/pseuds/banneroflupinsbones
Summary: You're taken hostage by a hunter looking for Joel and Ellie. Will you be saved, and will Joel finally be able to express how he feels about you?





	1. Chapter 1

The man backhanded you in the face, causing your lip to split and instantly start bleeding. You looked up at him, pure hatred in your eyes, as you spit the blood from your mouth and onto the floor. You were tied to a chair with your hands behind you, your gun in view but unattainable. The man crouched in front of you and smiled devilishly.

“You tell me where the old man and little girl are, and I’ll let you go,” he said, his voice nasally. 

“Fuck off,” you retorted.

The man straightened, cracking his knuckles. He quickly and forcefully punched you in the stomach and your breath came out in an audible exhalation. You slumped, your abdomen throbbing in pain. You took a deep breath and felt a new pain in your side. Did this asshole just break one of your ribs? You ground your teeth together and stared at him again. 

“I won’t ask again. Tell me where they are.”

“I don’t understand what you don’t get about ‘fuck off,’ dumbass.” 

He let out a frustrated groan and whipped a switchblade out of his pocket. He unsheathed it and pointed it at you. You looked at the blade with an unimpressed expression on your face. You slowly brought your eyes back to his and scoffed at his efforts. He moved closer to you.

“If you don’t tell me right now, you’re dead.”

“And you’ll be left in the same place that you are now…with no answers, but with the added bonus of my dead body. C’mon man, get real!” you taunted him, both stalling for time and to be a bit of a dick. 

You had told Joel and Ellie to get out of town and that you’d hold off the group of hunters looking for them. Ellie protested and begged Joel to stay with you, and it appeared as though Joel was about to give in when you told them to get lost. Joel said you were being stupid and that the three of you could more than handle the hunters, but you insisted on your position. The three of you had been running for days and you hoped that you could buy Joel and Ellie some time where they could find relative safety and rest, even if that meant risking your life. Their plight was larger than you, and you were more than willing to help the girl you had grown to like and the man you had grown to love.

The man swung the blade down and into your thigh. You cried out but cut it short, knowing that you couldn’t give this asshole any sense of satisfaction from your pain. He pulled the knife out of you and pressed it to your stomach. 

“Next time, I’m gonna gut you like an animal. Okay, sweetheart?”

“Fine with me, dear.”

You knew you were asking for it. At this point, you wondered if you had a death wish. What were you staying alive for anymore? Your family had been killed at the beginning of the outbreak and you had been transient since then, trying to find peace and a place you could call home. The closest you had been to a place or feeling like home was when you were with Joel and Ellie. Even though your time together had been brief, you felt like you belonged with the gruff man and foul-mouthed girl. You felt safe with them and they gave you a sense of purpose: keeping Ellie safe and accompanying them on their mission. What was the point without them? 

The man picked your gun up from the ground and waved it in your face. You looked at it with a frown, wondering if he would actually have the balls to use it. You were the only person that knew where Joel and Ellie were—you were too valuable to kill. 

“For the last time, tell me where they are. Now,” he said.

“I think I’ll take my chances with you. I’m not bothered, and I’ve got some time to kill. I could stay here all day,” you leaned back in the chair and put on a brave face. 

The man exhaled deeply and got up to leave. He put his hand on the doorknob before turning back to you, pointing the gun at you. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

“Like I said before, fuck off,” you said in a sing-song voice.

You felt the pain before the noise of the shot fully registered in your mind. Your shoulder jerked back from the force of the bullet entering your body and you felt a stinging, burning sensation. You cried out in pain and you could feel the blood streaming from your wound. You started to get lightheaded and you took in a series of deep breaths to ground yourself. This may have been the most pain you had ever experienced in your life. You clenched your eyes shut and focused on not passing out.

The man strode over to you and held the gun to your forehead, but turned abruptly when the door behind him slammed open. There stood Joel, a shotgun aimed at your captor’s head, and Ellie behind him with a pistol in her hands. You looked up and relief flooded through you as Ellie met your eyes with a small smile. Joel kept his gaze trained on your captor, who had pressed the gun to your head again. 

“One move and she gets it,” the man pressed the weapon roughly against your skin. 

Joel’s frown deepened and his eyebrows came closer together in a mixture of anger and concentration. The hair raised on the back of your neck as your captor ran the weapon down the side of your face lightly, teasing both you and Joel. You jerked your head away from the man and felt a pang of pain from your shoulder. 

“You have a choice here, Joel. You and the girl come with me, and this one,” the gun barrel was pushed into your head again and you grimaced, “stays alive. Deal?”

“What are you waiting for, Joel? Shoot this asshole!” Ellie said. 

Your captor swiftly drew his blade out and plunged it into your gunshot wound, twisting it when it was in your body. You squeezed your eyes shut and gasped for breath, your heartbeat frantic. You felt weak and fell forward, only staying slightly upright because your wrists were still tied to the chair. Another shot rang out and you heard a body fall, but you were more preoccupied with staying conscious. 

Ellie rushed to you and pushed you back in the chair, your head lolling to the side. Joel quickly moved to the other man and shot him in the head, blood splattering over you and the wall. Ellie took out her knife and began sawing at the ties on your wrists, looking at your face periodically to see if you were still alive. Joel placed the shotgun on the floor and knelt in front of you, patting your face lightly.

“C’mon, (Y/N). C’mon, babygirl.”

“Fuck, this hurts,” you moaned, your head swimming. 

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Joel chuckled, glad that you were okay for the most part. 

“Got it!” Ellie triumphantly said as the ties fell to the floor. “Do you think she can walk?”

“No. She’s lost too much blood,” Joel replied. 

Joel picked up his gun and stood, handing it to Ellie. She took it without saying anything and prepped it to fire if need be. Joel put one arm around your back and the other under your knees, picking you up and adjusting you in his arms with a slight grunt. You put one arm around his neck, the other holding your wound to try to stop the bleeding. The world was spinning in front of you and your head rolled back, the adrenaline that had been keeping you conscious ebbing quickly. 

“Stay with me, (Y/N),” Joel said, his voice commanding but still gentle. 

You groaned and your eyes fluttered shut. Joel’s mouth tightened as he looked at you, knowing that he couldn’t administer any sort of first aid until the three of you were in a safe place. He nodded at Ellie and she cautiously moved out of the room, the shotgun brandished in front of her. You felt Joel start running as you were jostled in his arms and you heard gunshots as Ellie took out any hunters remaining in the building. Your consciousness slowly faded away to the chorus of footsteps and firing weapons.


	2. Chapter 2

You slipped in and out of consciousness as your body burned with fever from the wound in your shoulder. Every time you awoke, it was for a very short amount of time. The world swam before you, but you could see Ellie leaning over you with concern clearly written on her face—then everything went dark again. Sweat was making your clothes damp and Joel had wrapped you in as many blankets as he could find. He had bandaged your shoulder as best he could with the supplies he had, making sure to apply enough pressure to stop your bleeding. 

Joel and Ellie had secured a safe spot in an abandoned house on the edge of town, away from what few hunters remained. Joel had put you in the bed on the second floor of the house and told Ellie to watch you while he went out to look for antibiotics. Ellie sat on the floor near you and looked at you occasionally, her pistol sitting in her lap. She would hum under her breath every now and then, hoping that whatever song she was singing would make your dreams easy and carefree.

You shifted and exhaled, slowly opening your eyes. Ellie quickly got up and moved to you, her brows arched in concern. 

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey, Ellie,” you muttered, blinking sleep from your eyes. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“Shitty,” you tried pushing yourself up to a sitting position and sucked in a deep breath from the pain in your shoulder, ribs, and thigh.

“Hey, hey. Lie down,” Ellie gently pushed you down onto the bed.

“I just got shot and stabbed in the thigh, it’s not like I lost a limb or anything.”

Ellie let out a soft chuckle and adjusted the pillow behind your head. She stopped when she heard movement downstairs and quickly grabbed her gun, running to the bedroom door.

“It’s just me, Ellie,” Joel called.

You heard him climbing the stairs and the door creaked open slowly. Joel entered the room and gave you a gentle smile when he saw you were awake. As quick as it had come, the smile was gone and his face hardened again. In his hand he held a bottle of pills. He crossed the room and stopped at your side as Ellie took a step back to give him space. Joel put the pills on the bedside table before carefully sliding his arm around your back.

“I’m gonna sit you up, okay?” Joel said softly.

You nodded and Joel helped you sit up. You cried out when your shoulder moved and Joel quickly leaned you back against the headboard. 

“I’m gonna move you one more time to get you settled, then we’ll be done, alright?” he met your eyes. He figured that it would be best to make the pain happen quickly rather than stretch it out if he moved you slowly.

Joel adjusted his arm around you again and pulled you up swiftly. You squeezed your eyes shut and clenched your teeth at the pain, letting out a deep breath once you were upright. Ellie smiled at you and you tried to return the gesture. Joel took a step back and crossed his arms across his chest.

“How long was I out?” you asked as you shifted to become more comfortable.

“A few days,” Joel replied, his usual gruff tone having returned.

“Are we safe?”

“For now,” Joel paused, then addressed Ellie. “Can you go downstairs and get some water for (Y/N)?”

“Sure thing,” Ellie eyed the two of you before leaving the room. 

You heard Ellie’s footsteps slowly become quieter as she descended the stairs. Joel moved closer to the bed and sat at the foot of it, his elbows coming to brace themselves on his knees. He sighed deeply before looking at you.

“I was worried about you, (Y/N).”

“I’m sorry, Joel,” you replied softly, aching to reach out to him and run a hand down his back or hold his hand.

“What you did was real stupid, y’know that?”

“Don’t hold back or anything.”

“Jesus…” he scoffed and looked away. “Why did you insist on us leaving you? We could have handled all of those hunters together.”

“Because you and Ellie are on this huge mission that could save all of us, and I wasn’t about to let you guys get killed. Not when the two of you are this important.”

“What if we couldn’t have fought off those assholes without you? Ellie would be dead.”

“No, she wouldn’t. She has you, and there is no fucking way in hell that you would let her die.”

“Do you have to be so goddamned difficult all the time, (Y/N)?” he raised his voice and stood.

“Yes, because you’re risking Ellie’s life to save mine! I don’t know if you remember, Joel, but she could be the key to making a fucking cure! I’m worthless in the grand scheme of things!” 

You sat up a little straighter, even though it hurt, and your brows came together. Joel’s expression became dark.

“Don’t you ever say that you’re worthless,” he gesticulated as he spoke, his hand coming down to form a shaking fist at his side when he paused. “You are not worthless. You mean the world to me.”

“W-what?” you stuttered as you were thrown off guard. 

“You heard me.”

Joel turned to leave the room but you stopped him when he got to the door. “Don’t you fucking dare leave right now, Joel.”

Joel turned to face you. You threw the blankets off of you and hung your feet over the side of the bed. Shit, this was going to hurt. You took a deep breath and pushed yourself up, your shoulder and thigh screaming at you to lie back down. You stood unsteadily and put your weight on the leg that wasn’t injured. You straightened your back to stand at your full height and grimaced at the pain from your shoulder. 

Joel watched you the entire time, his face cloudy and his gaze scrutinizing. You made your way to him slowly and jabbed a finger into his chest.

“You’re the most courageous man I’ve ever met, but you’re also the most cowardly. You risk your life like there’s no tomorrow, but the moment you start to open up to other people, you shut down. You can’t keep shutting people out, Joel!”

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He paused before opening his eyes again, and stared at you.

“The reason why I keep people out is because I refuse to let myself get hurt again, (Y/N). First, it was Sarah. Then it was Tess. This time, it was almost you. What if something happened to you? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I could have saved you and didn’t.”

“We’ve all lost people, Joel. And we’re gonna keep losing people. But you know what? It’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.”

Suddenly, Joel’s hands were on the side of your face and his lips were on yours. You took a step back in surprise and your heart began to pound in your chest. Joel moved a hand from your face to wrap around your waist, and he pulled you closer. His beard scratched at your skin and a tingle ran up your spine from the contact of the coarse hair. You felt the gentleness in the way that he held you and the softness of his lips. You had been wanting to kiss him for what seemed like forever, and it was finally happening.

“Oh, gross, you guys! C’mon, do you really have to do this?” Ellie’s voice broke the silence in the room.

Joel instantly recoiled and let go of you. A blush began to creep onto his cheeks, and you could feel some heat coming onto yours. 

“I’m—” Joel cleared his throat. “I’m goin’ downstairs. (Y/N), there’s meds on the table for you.”

Joel quickly left the room and you could hear him practically run down the stairs. Ellie stifled a laugh and her eyes crinkled when she smiled at you.

“He finally got the fucking balls to kiss you. I never thought he would! You guys are gonna make the cutest couple.” 

“Thanks, Ellie. I’ll be sure to tell him you think so.”

“Heh, he’ll love it,” she flopped onto the bed.

“So where’s that water you were supposed to get me?”


End file.
